Summer Love
by LoveMyGalaxy
Summary: The summer before they start their second year of high school is a summer filled with love, laughter, heartbreak and tears. It's a summer they won't ever forget.


The summer before tenth grade is one that they won't soon forget. It's a summer filled with endless days romping around at the beach and hanging out at the movies, making sandcastles on the sandy shores of Brighton Beach, roaming the Coney Island boardwalk, and throwing popcorn at each other in the dark theatre.

Fourth of July weekend brings with it an intense heat wave, and it is also the weekend that it all starts to come apart. They agree to meet up at the Jacob Riis Park Beach in Queens to spend a quiet afternoon together away from the chaos of the city. None of them realize that the wheels of fate have been set into motion, or that destiny has rolled the dice. All they can think about is an afternoon of fun and enjoying each other's company.

As per usual, Riley arrives at the beach first, with Farkle in tow, and they immediately set up camp near the shoreline where the hot sand is being cooled by the cold salt water lapping at the shore's edge. They lay out the beach towels, set up the legless reclining beach chairs, and pitch the umbrella that Riley borrowed from the basement of her building. Then they spray on some sunblock and wait patiently for Lucas, who arrives fifteen minutes later with a cooler and a picnic basket and Maya on his back, smiling mischievously. "Giddy up, Cowboy!"

Riley smiles at her best-friend's antics and shakes her head. "Maya, get off his back!"

It takes another few minutes of shuffling things around before the picnic basket and cooler are successfully placed beneath the cool shade of the umbrella, and the first thing Maya does after putting everything away is turn to her best-friend wielding the bottle of spray on sunblock. "Did you remember to put sunblock on this time? I don't feel like wasting another week of summer sitting around and watching you peel off layers of dead skin because you forgot how easily you burn."

Smiling brightly like she always does, Riley nods and salutes her companion with the long blonde curls. "Yes, ma'am! I even did two layers this time!"

Satisfied with Riley's answer, Maya drops the bottle of sunblock onto the purple towel at her feet and, after pulling her blonde curls up into a high ponytail, starts to shimmy out of her clothes.

Sixteen has apparently been a good year for Maya, who has blossomed into a beautiful young woman seemingly overnight. Puberty has bestowed upon the blonde girl a very voluptuous full figure that would make girls her age and older jealous. It doesn't help much either that the stars and stripes themed bikini that she's chosen to wear leave very little to the imagination.

Her perfectly round B-cup breasts are cradled in a light blue fringed bandeau bikini top with several white stars stenciled across the fringe, and a red and white striped bikini bottom draws attention to beautifully curvy hips, a slender waist, and a derriere that most girls wished for. And when she steps out into the sunlight, the twinkling of a navel piercing draws attention to the flat planes of her belly.

Suddenly, Riley feels extremely self-conscious and every bit like a little kid standing next to her best-friend. At fifteen, she's got the body of a twelve-year-old with awkwardly long limbs that she doesn't think she'll ever grow into. Her own breasts are barely there, she's got no curves to speak of, and she wishes she had enough courage to get a navel piercing but she doesn't. All she can do is stare enviously at Maya as she twirls around with her arms extended up and out while Lucas sprays her with the sunblock.

As soon as she finishes getting her sunblock applied, Maya settles down into the legless beach chair and tears into a bag of barbecue flavored potato chips, dismissing her friends with a lazy wave of her hand. "Alright. You kids go have fun. I'll be right here soaking up the sun if you need anything."

Munching happily on her potato chips, Maya watches as her friends dive into the cool ocean head first and start splashing around in the waves. She laughs as Farkle throws himself at Lucas and submerges them both in the salty sea and waves at Riley when she throws both of her arms up in the air and makes a funny face.

Under the warmth of the sun and the cool shade of the umbrella Maya dozes off, coming to only when she feels water dripping onto her cheek. When she looks up she sees Farkle looming over her with a cheeky grin on his face and frowns at her lanky friend. "What do you want Farkle?"

The next thing Maya knows, Farkle has her over his shoulder and is running for the water with her shrieking at him to put her down. Which he does, as soon as they're waist deep in water and she freezes.

Everything around her fades and suddenly she's five years old again, flailing around helplessly in the community pool while the lifeguard flirts shamelessly with a cute girl. No matter how hard she tries her little legs aren't long enough to reach the bottom of the pool and the more she flails the further she drifts towards the deep-end of the pool, and the more of that horrible chlorine water she swallows.

At first nobody realizes that anything is wrong with their blonde-haired friend. Lucas and Farkle high-five each other for finally pulling one over on Maya, and Riley giggles at her two friend's silliness. But then she looks over at Maya to tease her about being pranked by Farkle of all people and her heart drops into to her nervously twisting stomach.

Maya's eyes are twisted shut, her breathing is fast and shallow, and she's shaking violently. Immediately, Riley knows something isn't right with her best-friend. "You guys... You guys something's really wrong with Maya. She's acting weird..."

A split second later all three of them are surging through the water towards her, fighting against the current and the waves, and Lucas is the first one to get to her. He grasps her shoulders gently to anchor her then slides his hands up to cup her neck and then her cheeks in his hands, tilting her face up as he talks to her in a calm, gentle voice. "Maya, it's me, Lucas. Don't think of anything else and just listen to the sound of my voice, okay? I need to open your eyes, Maya. Open your eyes and look at me."

An eternity seems to go by before Maya finally opens her eyes and looks up at Lucas, still shaking and hyperventilating as she tries to call herself back to reality. Lucas only offers her a comforting smile and strokes her cheeks gently with his thumbs. "There's my girl. Easy does it now. Take your time, Maya, you're okay. Feel your feet on the ground."

Just as it feels like Maya has finally come back to them, her eyes suddenly roll to the back of her head and she goes limp in Lucas' arms. He catches her before her head disappears under water and lifts her into his arms bridal-style, carrying her back to the shore with Riley and Farkle tight on his heels.

As soon as she's laid back on the beach towels, Riley sinks down to her knees and starts shaking her unconscious friend gently to try and wake her. "Maya, can you hear me? Maya!"

On instinct, Farkle digs his cellphone out of Riley's purse and starts to dial 911. Mid-way through dialing, Lucas seizes his wrist a little bit too firmly. "Wait, wait. I think she's coming to. Maya? Can you hear me?"

With a small gasp, Maya swims back into consciousness, blinking rapidly as her eyes try to focus against the bright sun. Once the bright spots clear the first face she registers is Riley, cheeks flushed and eyes glittering with unshed tears of anxiety. "Riley? What happened?"

Gentle hands are pulling her up into a sitting position and the next thing she knows, Riley is suffocating her in a tight hug. "Oh thank God you're okay! I thought I'd lost my best-friend!"

Despite the slight throbbing in her head, Maya smiles and pats the younger girl's head lightly. "I'm not going anywhere, yet. Although, I might if you don't stop squeezing me Peaches."

Riley giggles as she releases her friend and settles back on her haunches. "Yeah, you're definitely okay."

But Lucas knows better. From the way the way her hands shake as she accepts a bottle of water from him and the fact that the color hasn't quite returned to her cheeks yet, he knows that she's still reeling from being dropped into the ocean. He knows that she wants to be as far away from water as possible, even if she doesn't say it out loud. "Do you want to get out of here, Maya? Maybe go home rest a bit?"

Immediately Riley's smile drops as she pouts sadly. "Oh but what about the fireworks later? We were going to have a bonfire and make S'mores!"

Home sounds incredibly tempting right now, but she hesitates, hating the disappointed look on her best-friend's face. So Farkle, ever observant, pipes up and offers a compromise. "Actually, I think it's a good idea for Maya to go home and rest. Besides, the fireworks won't be for a few more hours. So... what if we come back later? Y'know, go home right now, drop off everything we don't need, rest up, and then we can meet back here around like 7?"

That's all it takes for the smile to return to Riley's face, the brunette clapping enthusiastically as she bounces in place. "Yay! Okay, so meet back here at 7? Or do you want to all just go back to my place and hangout? Or we can all hangout at Maya's place!"

There's a hopeful smile plastered on her face as she glances at each of her three friends, and though none of them want to burst her bubble, they know somebody has to. So Farkle pipes up again, patting her knee gently. "That's an idea. But I don't think Maya wants that many people around right now. So why don't we let Lucas walk her home, and I'll walk you home, and we can just meet up at 7. We'll wash up, eat something light, rest a little bit and then reconvene right here. Okay?"

So it is that the four friends pack up their bags and wash up, heading for the train station. Lucas of course refuses to let Maya walk because she'd nearly collapsed when she'd stood up, having not quite gained back full control of her legs. Riley only looks on slightly enviously as he gets onto the subway with their blonde haired friend on his back, eyes closed and fast asleep. But she's over it by the time she and Farkle get off the subway train at her stop, smiling at the knowledge that her best-friend has found someone so reliable to lean on.

It doesn't hurt any less to know that the boy she spent most of her early teens fawning over is likely in love with her best-friend, but knowing that it's him and that she couldn't possibly be in better hands makes Riley feel better about everything. And as she sneaks a glance at the nerdiest, geekiest, sweetest member of their group of four she knows that everything has worked out for the best.

Even though it's not quite the way things had turned out when her parents were younger, even though the Shawn of their generation is ending up with the Topanga of their generation, and the Cory of their generation will most likely end up with the Minkus of their generation, she knows that everything is exactly the way it's supposed to be. And she's happy.

One block over, Lucas is busy shuffling through Maya's apartment, putting things away here and there while the smaller girl takes a bath. As soon as he puts the last of the unnecessary items away, he kicks off his shoes and reclines on her bed, staring up at the ceiling as he replays the scene at the beach in his head.

As the image of Maya fainting runs through his mind it sends a cold chill up his spine. He can't remember a time when he'd been so scared in his life. In that moment nothing else had mattered except the petite blonde firecracker and whether or not he had lost her forever. And when she'd opened her eyes and murmured Riley's name, it was as if an immense weight had been lifted from his chest. Finally he felt as though he could breathe again.

The minutes tick by as he goes deeper and deeper into the recesses of his own mind, and by the time Maya comes out of the bathroom he's so deep in thought that he doesn't register the door to her bedroom opening and closing. He does, however, register the teasing Southern accent that falls from her plush pink lips. "Earth to Ranger Rick! What's got your britches all in a tizzy Cowboy?"

If his mind were functioning a little more properly, he probably would have responded with some witty remark. But as it is, his mind can't seem to form any kind of coherent thought outside of the fact that she looks really, really nice. She's wearing the beige sweater with his old school's emblem printed across the front over a pair of knee length black tights, and her blonde curls have been let loose, tumbling down wildly over her shoulders and around her tiny, tiny waist.

She looks like a hot mess, but Lucas thinks that he's never seen a more unbelievably beautiful hot mess in his life. Not that he's going to tell her that of course. Instead he just clears his throat and pats the empty side of the bed between him and the wall. "Nothing... I just... You gave us all a real fright, you know that? What happened out there?"

Knowing she can't keep it a secret anymore, Maya regales him with the story from her childhood of her traumatizing experience at the community pool with her mother. She tells him about how her mother had left her on a bench to go in search of an inner tube and she'd taken advantage of her mother's momentary absence to toddle over to the adult pool even though she hadn't learned how to swim yet.

She recounts the fear that had shot through her little body when an older boy had run by and accidentally knocked her into the pool. Tells him about how she flailed her tiny arms desperately for what seemed like hours as she drifted towards the deepest end of the pool, and how terrible the pool water tasted as she tried to cry for her mother. And the relief when a little boy playing in the pool had finally seen her and screamed for his father.

And then she tells him about her savior. About the man with blonde hair and dog tags, who had been visiting the community center with his son. "And then this guy with like short-cropped blonde hair comes swimming over and just scoops me into his arms. I remember his dog tags clinked as he lifted me out of the water, and then the little boy in the blue Power Ranger inner tube came floating over asking if I was okay. My mom thanked him after he told her what happened, and we went right home, but ever since that day I've been terrified of large bodies of water."

A soft smile makes its way across his lips as a distant, faded memory bubbles back up to the surface, and he digs in his pants pocket for his phone. "You don't say. Blue Power Ranger inner tube, huh?"

Sitting cross-legged beside him on the empty side of the bed, Maya frowns and narrows her eyes at him. He's up to something and she knows it. "Yeah... what about it Ranger Rick?"

When he finally turns his phone screen towards her, the color immediately rushes to her cheeks. Staring back at her is the very man who had saved her from a watery death, standing in waist deep water with his hands on either side of a blue Power Ranger inner tube supporting a blonde haired little boy with the brightest smile. "You were saying?"

Her eyes widen at the caption, which reads: Dad and Lucas, Age 5 - New York, 2004. "No way. No freaking way."

The universe, Maya realizes, works in very mysterious ways. Never in a million years would she have ever thought that the father and son from that day were Lucas and his father. Nor could she ever have guessed that more than a decade later that little boy would be all grown up and spread out on her bed. So she starts to wonder, is the universe trying to tell her something?"

But before she can lose herself on that train of thought, Lucas is grabbing her wrist and pulling her down until she's half on top of him, tucked safely under his chin with one leg over his hip and an arm across his broad chest, and half on the bed. "We'll save that trip down memory lane for a rainy day. For now, let's get some rest because you know Riley is going to want to stay out all night if she can."

She would argue, but she's much too comfortable and sleepy at the moment for anything else. So she snuggles closer and allows Lucas to wrap her up in his strong arms, falling asleep to the steady beat of his heart against his ribcage. She'll never admit it out loud, but she's fast getting used to having the cowboy in her life and she's grateful that the universe brought them back together.

Several hours later they're back at the beach, sitting in front of a warm fire under a sky glittering with stars. She's wearing the same thing she'd changed into earlier, having been to lazy to dig anything else out of her closet, and she's still tucked into Lucas' side. Only now she's holding his hand and her head is resting on his shoulder.

All of their families have come out to join them for the evening, and Maya watches with a fond smile as Riley and Farkle chase each other up and down the beach. At the next fire pit over, Ava and Auggie are having the time of their lives making S'mores while Mrs. Matthews freaks out about the mess. Even Shawn and the Minkus' have come out to be with their children, and Maya can't hide the smile when she sees Shawn shyly handing her mother a freshly made S'more out of the corner of her eye.

For the first time in a long time, Maya is happy and she know she has Lucas to thank for that. So she lifts her head and turns to face him, smiling softly. "Thanks for saving my life, Ranger Rick."

Lucas only smiles and leans in to steal Maya's first kiss just as the fireworks go off above them. "Any time, Shortstack."

"DETENTION MR. FRIAR! Keep your lips to yourself!"

A/N: Well, there it is. Independence day fic. I'm sorry if it's crappy, but I wanted to post something since it's Independence day, and I happened to have this half-written fic on stand-by. So I spent the entire day churning out the rest. Please do let me know what you think. I have no beta so I apologize for any grammatical or spelling errors. It was also supposed to be a lot angstier than what it is but I'll probably post a different version later. For now, enjoy!


End file.
